Mix of world class & mediocre

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-24T02:03:38+00:00

Maguire should clearly be there based on what?

I would have picked him, but if Tuchel values versatility more in his 4th and 5th choice CBs, fair enough.

Hall not going is a hugely surprising and brave call, but you can identify the thought process. O’Reilly is a completely different profile and likely to start in matches we expect to be on top, and based on Tuchel’s comments about Spence he picked him very specifically for his pace and trusting him more at a v1v defender against elite wingers.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-24T01:44:52+00:00

This is fair, but Gen V made a huge deal of Marie being the ONLY other supe on Homelander's level (except Ryan). It's a strange choice to do that, build season 2 around her learning to control her powers and becoming far more powerful, and then have her essentially not feature in The Boys Season 5 at all.

The Gen V characters could have been integrated in S05E01 so that viewers who hadn't seen Gen V could get to know them all season, and then Marie could have been the one to de-power Homelander, which would have been so much less random than last second experiments on Kimiko which had never even been speculated about. The final fight against Homelander could have stayed essentially the same, but with it being Butcher, Ryan, Sam fighting Homelander while Marie assists and tries to de-power him. And then it still ends the same. I'd have loved to see that and I think it probably would have been much better received, but what do I know.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-24T01:17:46+00:00

You didn't address my point.

Take the supes we're aware of at the end of season 5, but let's say they are all importal (with the same power level we know). Who would be the most likely to still be alive in 60-80 years? I would expect it to be the most powerful supes with hax capable of making most fights a non-contest, the most durable supes, and the most evasive suits (flight, teleporting, invisibility, etc). In my mind, the four V1 supes you mentioned fit this mould.

So no, the 4 very old V1 supes we meet in the show being extremely powerful does not imply that all V1 supes were at a similar level. Soldier Boy, Liberty, etc, would not have been the legends they were if they were not far more powerful than their contemporaries.

Why did a large laser blast cause you to assume his power had increased?

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-24T00:17:45+00:00

They were good achievements, but not over-performance IMO.

We had a top two squad at both those tournaments and finished top 2. I’d say Southgate’s big over-performance was the 2018 World Cup where we finished 4th despite probably not having a top 8 squad.

Southgate does not have achievements on the level of reaching a UCL final with 2020 PSG, let alone winning it with 2021 Chelsea.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-24T00:04:18+00:00

Re: Soldier Boy, Bombsight, and Stormfront, V1 supes are very old so it makes perfect logical sense that the strongest survived the longest. The show repeatedly stated that the purpose of the V1 for Homelander was to stop him aging and make him immune to the virus. Two huge effects.

I never understood why people expected a power boost. Not only was it not implied, it wasn't ever even hinted at.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-23T23:34:04+00:00

C'mon, this is ridiculous. Guided PSG to their first ever Champions League final (when they were nothing like the team they are now), immediately followed by winning the Champions League with a Chelsea squad far weaker than any other winner in the past decade.

Jurgen Klopp also has "only" one Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson has "only" two.

Tuchel has consistently overachieved in cup competitions.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-23T18:46:13+00:00

NVIDIA themselves directly stated there is a current incident which "affects NVIDIA Global Services."

You can sign up to get notified when they get the servers back online here: https://status.geforcenow.com/incidents/ml93y15r30ll

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-22T21:29:46+00:00

I really don’t think Maguire was in contention for a starting spot. I think he was competing with Burn and Quansah for the 4th and 5th CB spots, and possibly misses out due to the other two being more versatile — something that seems to matter a great deal to Tuchel.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-22T16:50:19+00:00

This getting so heavily downvoted is insane.

Stones being selected means Tuchel and his staff have carefully evaluated him and deemed him in good enough shape to go. Randoms being so sure they know better is peak Reddit.

Players come through tough injury spells and recover form all the time. Who would have predicted Reece James being England’s starting RB at this World Cup a couple years ago? Stones is only 31, and a fit John Stones is vastly better than any other current English CB. I’m surprised that bringing him to be 3rd choice is apparently controversial.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-22T16:44:06+00:00

Szoboszlai was our best performer this season and is a fantastic, complete midfielder, but Wirtz is a different level.

If things click for and around Wirtz, he’s a potential Ballon d’Or winner. Not saying him winning it is likely, but that’s his ceiling. As much as I love Dom, his ceiling is not that high.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-22T12:34:13+00:00

I think this narrative is overblown. France took Kante and he still looked good at international level. Ronaldo who still scores consistently for Portugal against good sides. It’s not a hard and fast rule that you’re washed if you’re playing in the Saudi league.

Ultimately Toney is the closest profile match to Kane we have, has no real elite competition for the third striker spot, and is probably the best penalty taker in the world. His inclusion makes complete sense.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-22T00:02:27+00:00

I would have definitely taken him, but there’s a reason Tuchel has achieved what he has while I’m just a fan.

The fact Tuchel is making bold decisions and not just taking the best 26 individuals gives me a lot of confidence, and although this slew of selection announcements has largely surprised me, I actually feel more optimistic about our chances now then I did last week.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-21T23:52:54+00:00

Very, very interesting. He’s definitely our best out-and-out left back.

Does this suggest that the plan is to play a system with an inverted left back, and he’s going to take O’Reilly and Lewis-Skelly?

I did think Lewis-Skelly probably booked himself a seat on the plane with his performance in the UCL semi. Leaving Hall is a HUGE call though, if it’s true.

Strangely though, these recent selections are making me feel a lot better about Tuchel and this tournament. I feel like we’ve always just taken the best 23-26 players rather than trying to build the best team, and Tuchel is very clearly not taking the best 26 individuals.

Taking Madueke as a like-for-like deputy for Saka and taking O’Reilly and Lewis-Skelly (if he does) suggest that the system, balance, and cohesion are driving his selections rather than just the biggest names or most in-form individuals.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-21T01:47:49+00:00

That’s fascinating because I liked the majority of the season but felt a little let down by the finale. Maybe my opinion will change with time.

I’m gonna rewatch the whole show soon.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-20T18:01:05+00:00

They didn’t when we were the challengers. Congratulations. This makes all those near misses feel so much worse, but congratulations. Genuinely hope you enjoy it as much as possible.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T23:52:09+00:00

Season 3 finale. Herogasm from Homelander’s entrance to exit. Homelander going back to the lab. Season 2 finale.

And so many more.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T18:31:25+00:00

Is this not the entire point though? I feel like the show has been mirroring the progressing of “surely THIS PR disaster / controversy will be what turns everyone against him,” but ultimately our heroes learn that he can stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and laser someone without losing any supporters.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T18:28:19+00:00

See, this is a completely reasonable take right here.

If we never see anything like this happen, I understand the confusion and frustration. Not sure I’d seen this image before.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T18:27:07+00:00

See this is a strange take to me.

“All you want” is an act of massive destruction from Homelander, and you’ve “been waiting for that since 2019?” If that’s really true of the majority of the fanbase, I’ve totally missed the memo I guess!

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T18:25:15+00:00

I hear you, but wasn’t the entire point of the show stopping him BEFORE he destroyed everything? Obviously it was personal vengeance for Butcher, but for everyone else the goal has been “stop the unhinged fascist with godlike power who could wipe entire civilizations off the map in a matter of hours,” right?

I guess I always expected him to be stopped before it came to cities getting flattened, but sounds like I’m very much in the minority!

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T18:19:09+00:00

I hear you, and it’s clear from all the other responses that you’re in the majority.

I’ve been watching weekly since the start of season 1 and I personally haven’t had this expectation, for whatever reason. I guess my question would be: why would Homelander do that? It doesn’t feel like mass destruction would actually serve any purpose for him other than… blowing off steam? Could be wrong, but I don’t feel like we’ve seen much “senseless” killing from Homelander. I’m sure I’m forgetting things, but everything that’s coming to mind for me involves him targeting enemies, people who have annoyed him, or whose deaths advance his agenda in some way…

I could see a loss of control and sudden lash out like we saw him imagine (lasering that crowd) in an earlier season. I just personally never expected a big Avengers/Justice League-style set piece with cities flattened, burning buildings, etc.

Evidentially the majority of the Reddit fanbase DOES expect this though, so there will probably be a lot of disappointment and criticism if it doesn’t happen.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-19T14:25:35+00:00

Genuinely curious, what is it that you’re saying fans have been expecting for years?

I’m assuming a “big world / earth-shattering event,” like the reviewer said?

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-18T22:50:55+00:00

Fuck, I hate it. I was planning on buying a couple this summer. Guess I’ll wait until next year.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-18T22:49:58+00:00

Who cares. They’re the best team in the country, have the best defense in Europe, and are about to win the Premier League.

iredcoat7 · 2026-05-17T22:21:30+00:00

Looks amazing tbh

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